Journal

Our quarterly journal has been published continuously since the Society was formed in 1975. A complete set is available for reference in our Research Room in Bristol.

Each issue aims to keep members up-to-date about events that may be taking place and presents regular features and a range of articles about family history and local history. 'On the Internet' articles (see below) are reproduced on this website in the month of publication and 'My Parish' articles are published 12-18 months after publication in the Journal.

Journals are distributed to members each quarter (June, September, December & March) and members who join part way

Most issues of the Society's Journal contain an article about recent family history developments on the Internet; these are included below so that you can access the sites listed more easily by calling up the articles below and clicking on the links rather than by entering the web address into your browser. However, please note that links in older articles may no longer work.

On the Internet - March 2009

Most of you will know by now about the release of the 1911 census. There was a limited release (a beta test) over Christmas which was ostensibly by invitation only, although the invitations were spread quite widely. The general release was on Tuesday 13th January.

On the Internet - September 2008

Recent announcements about websites have brought both good and bad news for the family historian. While most developments bring better search features and bigger databases, sometimes things just don’t work out as we would like.

On the Internet - December 2008

Ancestry have recently changed their subscription options, and increased their prices. For the U.K. researcher, “Essentials” membership now costs £83.40 annually and includes birth marriage and death records as well as the census records. “Premium” membership costs £107.40 and includes various other databases, including Irish records. Monthly payment options are available, and you can still do “pay as you go”.

On the Internet - June 2008

Several people have asked recently if there is any news about progress on the project to scan and transcribe the 1911 census. This work was contracted to the company Scotland Online, which now owns Findmypast.